berghia

[RYAN.WIESE]

Does anyone have any info on where to find berghia in the so cal area. i looked online but it cost a lot to ship them. Is this the best way to rid my tank of Aiptasia?

 

[jglackin]

I think berghia are very effective at eliminating aptasia. The best insructions on how to manage them in your system is explained at www.inlandaquatics.com. There is a place in St. Louis that will ship them out much cheaper than most other places, http://www.saltyunderground.com.

Don't add them to your tank. Add them to your fuge and let them multiply. When they multiply, the larvae will end up in the tank and they will eat the aptasia.

 

[snorvich]

But if you do not have aiptasia in your refugium, they will starve. They are very effective if you add them to your tank as I did.

 

[coralnut99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11997035#post11997035 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
But if you do not have aiptasia in your refugium, they will starve. They are very effective if you add them to your tank as I did.

They are an easy prey for lots of critters, like hermits, etc. and will wander into PH inlets, and overflows. If your tank has minimal predators, you can add them directly as many have. Some folks have set up small tanks to house them temporarily, and place infected rock / specimens there for cleanup when feasable. The fact that they will starve once they are done, or the aip population thins too much is a well known fact. Before you buy them, you may want to see if there is someone else in your area who could use them, and pass them along.

 

[jglackin]

True. As soon as your aptasia are gone, or as the berghia start to multiply, you can be a hero and give them to all of your reefing buddies.

 

[jglackin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11997081#post11997081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coralnut99
They are an easy prey for lots of critters, like hermits, etc. and will wander into PH inlets, and overflows. If your tank has minimal predators, you can add them directly as many have. Some folks have set up small tanks to house them temporarily, and place infected rock / specimens there for cleanup when feasable. The fact that they will starve once they are done, or the aip population thins too much is a well known fact. Before you buy them, you may want to see if there is someone else in your area who could use them, and pass them along.

My understanding is that they are toxic to virtually every predator except critters that eat aptaisias. I have never heard of hermits eating them.

The best way to manage them is to add them to your fuge. Let them multiply in your fuge and let the larvae make it into the main display on their own. Many will get chopped up in the pumps, but through sheer volume, they will make short work of your aptasia in your system. You can then start selling/trading them or give them away.

 

[coralnut99]

Well, from personal experience I've failed at adding them to one of my displays on two occasions. The infestation is pretty severe in my mind. The last try was with 5 adults. They did consume some. But they disappeared with a lot more to go. So to qualify my personal experience I can't say they fell to predators or pumps. However, the tank is a 125 with only one Tunze, and a MJ behind a rock wall. The tank does have hermits and I've caught more than one snail-munching hitchhiking crab.

About 3 or 4 years ago, there was a LFS near my home that was owned by a couple of marine biologists (at leat that was their major). They maintained a tank in the back of the store specifically to grow these guys out. A 20H with nothing more than a shallow sand bed, and plastic plants for the aips to grow onto. Filtration was only an air-driven sponge filter, and lighting was only indirect from the room. A relatively sterile environment. They explained that even springtails (pods) will consume hatchlings. So will some make it out of a fuge? Sure. But like anything else, there's a mortality percentage that will vary. My assertion that they are easy prey is from what I saw those folks doing to propogate them. Honestly I'd never heard they are toxic in and of themselves. Hopefully someone else will chime in on that.

 

[jglackin]

Berghias use the toxins from the aptasias they eat as part of their own defense. Maybe as larvae, prior to them eating aptasias, they are more susceptible to predation, but they are extremely prolific. Just as in the wild, maybe most of the larvae get eaten/chopped up, but, through sheer volume, they still multiply and eat the aptasias.

One of the top mariculture facilities in the US is Inland Aquatics. I trust their experience and advice over anyone. They have an extensive breeding program for berghias. Check out their web site, read what they say, and give them a call, if you still have questions.

 

[Spracklcat]

But again, if there are no aiptasia in the sump/fuge, what do the adults eat?

 

[jglackin]

If there are no aptasias in the fuge, which is sort of odd, if there are a large number in the display (you don't need berghias if you only have a few aptasias), you can either feed them with aptasias from the main display or you have no other choice but to put them in the display.

The best way to do this is to put the berghias in a tupperware bowl, let them attach themselves to the bowl, and then sink the bowl into the tank and then let the berghias crawl out on their own. If you dump them into the tank, they have a tendancy to ball up and float and this is when they get chopped up by the pumps.

 

[kyelr]

I'll throw out a recommendation to Salty Underground - customer service, shipment, price and product were fantastic!

 

[coralnut99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12000453#post12000453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kyelr
I'll throw out a recommendation to Salty Underground - customer service, shipment, price and product were fantastic!

Though I've never used them personally, I've never read anything remotely negative about them on this board.